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Ferguson and Reichert move toward November showdown in Washington governor’s race

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Ferguson and Reichert move toward November showdown in Washington governor’s race


Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichert will battle to be Washington’s next governor in November after storming to the front of the 28-person field in Tuesday’s primary.

Ferguson, 59, the three-term attorney general, had hauled in around 45.5% of the vote, according to results posted by the secretary of state around 8:30 p.m. Reichert, 73, a seven-term congressman and former King County sheriff, received 27.9%.

The Associated Press called the primary for Ferguson and Reichert around 8:15 p.m.

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Both dusted off intraparty challenges to their political right. 

State results: See primary election totals for legislative districts and statewide races

Republican Semi Bird, a former Richland school board member and the Washington State Republican Party’s endorsed candidate, had 9.4%. Democratic state Sen. Mark Mullet, running as a moderate alternative to Ferguson, was fourth with 5.8%.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to retire means Washington will get a new governor for the first time in 12 years.

Recent history shows battles for open seats are close. In 2004, Democrat Christine Gregoire defeated Republican Dino Rossi by just 129 votes following a hand recount. Eight years later, Inslee collected 51.5% en route to beating Republican Rob McKenna.

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Washington’s last Republican governor was John Spellman. He was elected in 1980 but lost re-election. Since then, Democrats have won 10 straight gubernatorial contests.

Ferguson entered the race as the presumptive frontrunner. He had a stockpile of cash from prior campaigns, organization and he’d already done a bit of groundwork in 2020 when it seemed Inslee, after a failed presidential bid, would step aside rather than seek a third term. 

But Inslee ran, scuttling Ferguson’s gubernatorial ambitions. Ferguson instead won another term as the state’s top lawyer.

A tireless campaigner, Ferguson vacuumed up endorsements of Democratic Party organizations across the state and is the top choice of the state Democratic Party. He had raised $9 million and spent just over $7 million as of Monday, according to filings with the Public Disclosure Commission.

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While he’s won backing from the party’s left-flank, he’s campaigned on a Republican-oriented message of improving public safety and hiring cops. He’s also outlined plans to make housing more affordable and to resolve problems plaguing Washington State Ferries.

Reichert is running after years of considering a bid for this office. He’s raised $4.4 million and spent $3.9 million ahead of Election Day.

He too talks about reducing crime, making communities safer, and lowering every day costs for families. And Reichert has, at times, looked to tie Ferguson to the myriad of policies passed by the Democratic majority in Legislature and signed by Inslee.

Expect abortion to be a central focal point in their battle this fall.

Ferguson has attacked Reichert unrelentingly for his votes in Congress on bills that, had they passed, would have imposed greater limits on abortion access than allowed in the state.

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Reichert put out an ad in the primary stating that if elected he won’t work to change Washington laws. But it won’t erase the issue given his history.

He’s personally opposed to abortion. In his seven terms in Congress, he supported bills to eliminate federal funding for it and create a national abortion ban at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, he and other Republicans have chastised Ferguson for being soft on public safety issues during his time as attorney general.

In the meantime, Bird and Mullet proved to be pesky challengers for each of their parties frontrunners. And their supporters could spell the difference in November for Ferguson and Reichert.

Bird, a military veteran, snagged the state Republican Party endorsement and had boisterous support from a bloc of the party that is more conservative on social issues and wary of government overreach. 

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He also faced scrutiny from some in the party. They viewed him as unelectable, citing his 2023 recall from the school board and personal travails including a misdemeanor conviction three decades ago for seeking to obtain a line of credit by forging his dad’s name on a bank application.

“I take full accountability,” he told delegates at the state party convention before they endorsed him. His campaign struggled to gain traction after the convention.

Mullet encountered similar hurdles running as a social progressive and fiscal conservative. 

He criticized Ferguson for supporting the decriminalization of drugs and raised questions about the attorney general’s fundraising. Those swipes at his Democratic opponent failed to meaningfully shift the dynamics of the race, as Mullet struggled to overcome a lack of name recognition and, despite support from pro-business donors, trailed far behind Ferguson raising money.

This story was initially published by Washington State Standard, a nonprofit news organization and part of the States Newsroom network, covering state issues. Read more at www.washingtonstatestandard.com.

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North Dakota National Guard heading to Washington duty

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North Dakota National Guard heading to Washington duty


BISMARCK — About 60 North Dakota Army National Guard Soldiers will be sent to help the District of Columbia National Guard under a joint task force starting in April.

Most soldiers are from the 131st Military Police Battalion, which is headquartered in Bismarck, according to a release.

The support will be given as part of the effort that began on Aug. 11, when several states activated members of their National Guard to support local and federal law enforcement in Washington under the President Donald Trump’s

executive order 14333,

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which declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital.

The support is a federal mission under the command of the D.C. National Guard, which supports civilian agencies and local law enforcement to reduce crime and minimize property damage.

“Safeguarding the citizens, federal workers and elected leaders in our nation’s capital is a matter of national security, and we appreciate these Soldiers volunteering for this important mission,” said North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong in a release. “We know they will represent our state with the skill and professionalism that military leaders everywhere have come to expect from the North Dakota National Guard.”

The battalion is expected to be in Washington for about three months.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

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Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say


Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.

The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.

According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.

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Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.

A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.

Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.

The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.

Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.

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Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.

Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.

The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.



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Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

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Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors


Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.

Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.

Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.

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“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”

RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions

House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.

Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.

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The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.

“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”

Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.

The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.

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